Ulama Forum in Nigeria reflects on the State of the Nation-Full text of Statement

The Ulama Forum in Nigeria has released a statement on its reflections on the State of the Nation.News Diary Online presents the full text below:

REFLECTIONS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION ISSUED BY THE ULAMA FORUM IN NIGERIA ON 10 AUGUST, 2024 (5 SAFAR 1446 AH)

PREAMBLE 

The Ulama Forum in Nigeria is deeply concerned with the declining state of affairs in Nigeria, particularly the excruciating suffering of the ordinary citizens in the face of economic deprivation, inflation and hunger, coupled with insensitivity, immaturity, ostentation, injustice, and corruption on the side of those saddled with public trust. It is unfortunate that the political leadership at all levels of governance seem to be sadistically oblivious of the situation on ground as they continue to seclude themselves in their self-deceptive enclaves, engrossed in plundering public wealth, with reckless impunity and disdain for due process and leadership values.

The rapid build-up of dissatisfaction and the effectiveness with which the youth were mobilised to engage in the protests  are a wakeup call to the greater dangers that lie ahead for the nation. Therefore, the Government must take note of the precarious situation and address the issues adequately and responsibly. More worrisome is the fact that the organisers of the protests turned down all advice and caution by keen and concerned groups, including members of this Forum, to shelve the protests and consider dialogue and other civic methods of registering their dissatisfaction and plight, and engaging the government towards policy changes in the interest of the Nigerian people. 

The Ulama Forum unequivocally condemns the undemocratic and uncivil conduct of the protests in a number of states which were attended with wanton destruction of public and private property and unfortunate loss of precious lives. It is sad and disheartening to see youth, who represent the future of the nation, depicting violence of the highest animalistic tendencies and abuse of cultural and religious norms and values in the basest and most profane manner. That mosques, hospitals, street lights, and even facilities meant for youth empowerment, were not spared from the senseless destruction speaks volumes of the level of moral and ethical decay in our society.

The Ulama Forum in Nigeria, upon reflecting on the situation, resolves and recommends as follows:

Government 

Government at all levels should

1. Appreciate the gravity of the situation and respond with empathy, sympathy and review its economic policies and programmes to ensure that they are geared to transparently and judiciously serve the interests of the Nigerian people only, 
2. Take immediate measures, to discard or stop white elephant undertakings, reduce the costs of food, energy and transport in order to curtail poverty and hunger, as essential steps for survival, peace, and stability of the polity,
3.  Demonstrate responsibility towards the victims, their loved ones and the nation in general, by holding the security agencies to account for the excessive use of force in handling the situation in some states, 
4. Rectify the impervious Presidential speech of Sunday, 4^th of August 2024, perceived by many concerned groups, including this Forum, to have fallen below expectations. It should be followed with steps of greater appreciation of the depth of anger among the youth and the dire survival situation of the citizenry which was expressed, albeit violently, by a cross section of the youth, in addition to more specific steps to address the cause of the anger,
5. Take steps to reduce the cost of governance and the profligate lifestyle of officials, legislators and other political office holders with humongous, illegitimate salaries, allowances, and perquisites that offend sensitivities, and which incite anger in the youth, 
6. Deploy constructive engagement with the youth, rather than labelling them as criminals, hooligans or saboteurs, but to see them as legitimate and enraged protestors, who, though they have gone beyond reasonable limits in expressing their anger, but they need to be listened to and handled with utmost care, because they represent the future of the country,
7. Soberly reflect and appreciate the reality of difficulties facing the people and the non-political dimensions of the protest, even as the government contends with the likely presence of political conspiracy and foreign influence, reflected in the exuberance of the youth in burning the national flag and raising a foreign one, 
8. Roll out effective programmes of youth empowerment by embarking upon extensive, crash skills acquisition training and engagement of the youth in community projects such as building schools, road repairs, apprenticeships, and tree planting,
9. Disabuse minds of the perceived bias of its programmes; to this end, the government should immediately publish the details of the beneficiaries of all its empowerment programmes and spending; and
10. Most importantly, take drastic steps to address the problem of insecurity in the North, which is the most critical existential threat and the major cause of the social dislocation, biting poverty and hunger sweeping across the region.

Furthermore, the Forum recommends that

1. Governments at State levels should establish mandate offices specifically for verifying and securing their proportionate share for all federal government support programmes and publish same so that both of them can be held accountable,
2. Elected representatives should strive to uphold the trust of their electorates and always promote and protect the interest of the people and in this particular instance, they should convene an emergency joint House meeting on the state of the nation with a view to impressing upon the executive the need to  address the complaints of the people, 
3. The political leadership should, as a gesture of goodwill and empathy, eschew ostentatious display of wealth; and
4. The Judiciary should not only dispense justice but must be seen to be doing so, by giving expedited hearing and resolution of cases of greater merit, seriousness, and national consequences, and by avoiding frivolous adjournments. 

 THE YOUTH

Nigerian Youth should

1. Reflect on the conduct of protests, which could be, indeed were, infiltrated by people with ulterior motives, leading to  unfortunate consequences, and which portend greater danger to the peace, security, and sustainable development of the nation,
2. Call off further protests and be open, as democrats, to sincere dialogue with the government and, based on that, present well-articulated and workable solutions to the economic and social problems bedevilling the nation,
3. Use the avenue of dialogue to seek explanations and accountability on government interventions and programmes like the Skill-Up Artisan Programme (SUPA), the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA), the National Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP), and the various credit facilities announced by the government. The youth should track each of the programmes and strategise to benefit from them most appropriately,
4. Accord due respect to and listen to the caution and advice of elders and religious leaders who seek to promote good governance, peace, and morality in society,
5. Avoid issuing generalised, unverifiable, disrespectful, inflammatory and downright impudent vituperations on the persons and offices of public notaries and government officials.  Doing so will be unhelpful to their cause; they should rather always seek guidance and counselling from appropriate quarters; and
6. Shun violence in pressing for their demands and beware of mischievous elements within and outside the country who seek to distort the protest to promote perpetual conspiratorial ambitions in the land; in line with this, they should outrightly stop calling for a military coup and desist from waving the flag of any foreign country.

THE ULAMA

The Ulama on their part should

1. Sustain the good work they have been doing in providing religious guidance, moral teachings, and promotion of the culture of peace; and defy all efforts at intimidating them into passive silence,
2. Strive to, as much as possible, remain non-partisan, at the same time be religious and patriotic citizens, concerned about the plight of the people and canvass for good governance, 
3. Continue to strengthen the spirit of Islamic brotherhood binding them, uphold the Islamic etiquette of differences in views and opinions, maintain fairness, balance and objectivity in telling truth to the authorities and the citizens; and
4. On all issues, they should be in conclave to examine matters, discuss issues, find solutions and achieve a consensus (ittifaq) so as to speak in unison and with one voice, thereby restraining themselves from grandstanding and refraining from divergent, sometime conflicting, views and from personal attacks which tend to diminish their collective credibility.  

THE PUBLIC 

The general public should

1. Be patriotic by putting the nation over and above personal and primordial  interests, amend their personal behaviour, eschew corruption, and turn to Allah in repentance,
2. Demand accountability from their elected leaders, both the executive and the legislative, at the Federal, State and Local Government levels,
3. Explore and exploit constitutional and legal provisions to recall all elected officers who fail to deliver,
4. Be alert, vigilant and aware of anything that will disturb peace, leading to chaos and the grinding of economic activities which further aggravate their suffering,
5. Dialogue with government, through community leaders, about their grievances and observed potential risks to peace and order,
6. At all times, keep track of government activities to keep awake their representatives at local, state and federal levels, for their legitimate due share of benefits,
7. Demand explanation from their legislative representatives regarding their conspiratorial silence, and abdication of responsibility, at critical times, such as the one at hand,
8. Exercise patience and await the next elections to vote out non-performing and or corrupt  representatives, leaders and political parties,

Additionally,

• Nigerian academics, professionals and economic experts should develop and promote homegrown economic policies and programmes against IMF and World Bank induced policies, and positively engage the government towards ensuring sustainable national development; and
• Parents in particular should intensify more efforts at ensuring the proper upbringing of their children and youth and train them on societal values, civic responsibilities, respecting elders, avoiding drug abuse and acts that are destructive.  

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Ulama Forum urges the government to handle the situation with greater responsibility, with the involvement of all stakeholders, in order to avert further deterioration of the precarious condition. It also calls upon Muslims to engage in prayers to Allah for national peace and unity, for Allah to touch the hearts of our leaders, guide them to be just and compassionate and for our youth to be more patient, resourceful, disciplined and respectful. As we call for cessation of further protests and resorting to dialogue, we urge the press and particularly the social media influencers to be more circumspect on their reporting and analysis of situations. 

Endorsed This Day of Saturday 10^th August 2024 (5^th Safar 1446 AH) by the following members: